Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 4 series sweep over Brooklyn

Going into this year’s first-round, many picked the series between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets as one of the best of the entire playoffs. On Monday night, the C’s completed the sweep in one of the more surprising results in recent history.

Winning by a final score of 116-112, the shamrocks fought off a relatively great game from Kevin Durant and questionable officiating at the end of the game, having to play without Jayson Tatum for the final 2:30 after fouling out.

Now, they move on to face the winner of Milwaukee and Chicago (they’ll be playing the Bucks) for a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After Game 1’s dramatic finish, nobody saw a sweep in the forecast. The Celtics pulled it off, getting some much-needed rest ahead of their next series.

The Boston Celtics simply outplayed the Brooklyn Nets

It’s hard to believe that a team could sweep the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but it happened. This is the first time that a team with Durant has been swept in the playoffs– at first, many saw the Nets as favorites to win the series.

A few games could have gone either way, but the last two contests in Brooklyn have been dominated by the Boston Celtics’ hustle and second-chance opportunities, led by young superstar, Jayson Tatum.

JT was the best player on the court throughout all four games, outplaying one of the best offensive players of our generation consistently.

These takeaways will be more geared towards storylines to look for in the next series, with the Nets being sent to Cancun:

Boston Celtics takeaway No. 1) Grant Williams is a productive playoff performer

Grant Williams had another impressive performance on Monday night, finishing with 14 points and three rebounds on 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. In 33 minutes of action, Williams was often switched onto Durant and held his own, forcing him into difficult looks despite the clear size advantage.

For the Celtics to continue to win in these playoffs, they’re going to need to have their complementary players hit shots from downtown. Williams is at the top of that list, hitting 41.1 percent of his shots from distance in the regular season, and that trend has continued into playoff basketball.

With Jayson Tatum seeing more double teams when he gets in the lane, Grant was open again and again in the corner for free looks at the hoop. He’s able to space the floor no matter what position he plays, whether it be the four or the five, and he can defend reasonably well against players that are taller than him.

When he gets switched out onto a traditional quick point guard, Grant may have trouble staying in front of them. However, against a potential Milwaukee opponent, the Bucks don’t have an off-the-dribble creator at the same level as Kyrie Irving.

Expect to see lots more of Grant Williams in the next series.

He’s earned it!